Brief: OP Cafe holds taco school fundraiser

The OP Cafe, located at 3117 Ocean Park Blvd., is kicking off a three-day taco fundraiser for the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation this afternoon.

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. today, Thursday and Friday, the cafe will offer $2 tacos and $1 aguas frescas to all customers.

Cafe owner Mark Verge and others are donating the food and cooking materials, leaving all event proceeds to the foundation‚Äôs Vision for Student Success Program.

The program will “fund arts, smaller class sizes [and] highly trained classroom aides” among other school services, said Ed Lin, the foundation‚Äôs director of major gifts. It will be implemented in full by the beginning of the 2014-15 academic year.

“By eating tacos from Wednesday to Friday, you‚Äôre helping all of our schools … not just one,” he said. That doesn‚Äôt mean things won‚Äôt get competitive, however: The SMMUSD school with the highest taco tally will be recognized by the cafe for its outstanding school spirit.